cherry sauce

• 200ml

  fortified malbec

• 50g

  granulated sugar

• 200g

  jarred cherries

• 20ml

  red wine vinegar

duck

• 1600g

  duck fat

• 10

  duck legs

• 20

  garlic cloves

• 20

  peppercorns

• 10 sprigs

  thyme

lentils provençal

• 4

  carrots

• 8

  garlic cloves

• 500g

  green lentils

• 4 tsp

  herbs de provence

• 10

  large potatoes

• 2

  leeks

• 8

  mushrooms

• 100ml

  single cream

• 100g

  smoked bacon lardons

• 500ml

  stock

• 2 tbsp

  tomato puree

• 100ml

  white wine

• Generously salt the duck legs and place in a container in the fridge overnight.

• The next day, remove the legs from the fridge and let come to room temperature. Rinse the legs well and pat dry.

• Cold smoke the duck legs for 3 - 4 hours using Hickory wood.

• Heat a large cast iron pot or dutch oven on the stove top and add enough duck fat to cover the bottom.

• Sear the duck legs in the pan, cooking until lightly browned. Then top up with more duck fat until the legs are covered, add in the garlic, thyme and peppercorns, and then put a lid on and cook at 140°C for 2 hours.

• Remove from the oven, add the duck legs to a container and then cover with the strained cooking fat. Wait until cool and then place in the fridge for at least 24 hours.

• To make the sauce, add the cherries, port and vinegar to a blender. Pulse until smooth and then add to a saucepan over a low heat. Add the sugar, stir to dissolve and then simmer for 5 minutes until slightly thickened. Keep to the sauce to the side and re-warm before serving.

• The day you want to serve, pre-heat the oven to 200°C and remove the duck from the fridge. Take the legs out of the fat, reserving some fat to put in a roasting tray for the potatoes (put this in the oven to pre-heat).

• Use paper towel to remove excess fat from each duck leg and place each one spaced out on a rack with the fat side up. Leave to the side to get to room temperature.

• Peel the potatoes and dice into 2cm cubes. Boil for 5 minutes and then drain and allow to steam dry.

• Put the rack of duck legs over a roasting tray with some water in the bottom. Make sure that the water does not touch the meat.

• Toss the potatoes in the pre-heated duck fat, then place the tray of potatoes and the tray of duck legs in the oven and cook for 30 minutes until the potatoes and duck skin are crispy.

• To make the stew, begin by frying the lardons until nicely browned and then remove these from the pan. Finely dice the leek and mushrooms and also prepare the carrots with a brunoise cut. Saute the leek and carrots in olive oil and the remaining bacon fat until softened, then add the garlic, tomato puree, herbs de provence, mushrooms and lentils. Once everything has been incorporated by stirring and it is smelling fragrant, add the white wine and cook until slightly reduced. Then add the stock and bring to a simmer for 20 minutes. Once the lentils have swollen, add the cream and salt and pepper to taste.

• To serve make a mound of the stew on the plate, add a duck leg to the top. Around the stew, add roast potatoes and swirls of the sauce. Serve with a side salad, such as rainbow chard with french dressing.